Wireless networks, such as wireless local area networks (LANs), have been developed to work in conjunction with or in place of wired networks, such as wired local area networks. For example, there are two basic types of wireless LANs—infrastructure and ad-hoc. In an infrastructure network, one or more wireless devices communicate directly with a base station or access point. The access point bridges the wireless LAN and a wired communication network and acts as a central controller for the wireless LAN. In an ad-hoc network, a LAN is created by the wireless devices themselves with no central controller. In an ad-hoc network, each device communicates directly with other devices in the network rather than through a central controller.
In a wireless network, air acts as the medium for data transmission. One of the concerns in a wireless network is that the medium over which data is transmitted is open and does not have the same constraints as a wired network. Malicious users can more easily access information traveling through the air. Furthermore, it is easier for malicious users to gain access to the wireless network. Existing wireless devices continually transmit probe requests to determine whether there are any wireless networks with which the wireless device can communicate. The probe request contains information about the type of network the wireless device desires to communicate with as well as information about the wireless device itself. Thus, the wireless device is “visible” to other wireless devices.
A malicious user of a wireless device can intercept these probe requests from other users (or wireless devices) and impersonate a wireless network with which the wireless device desires to communicate. An unsuspecting user (or wireless device) can unknowingly communicate with the impersonating wireless network, thereby enabling a malicious user to access information contained in the wireless device.